Delaware’s attorney general is lobbing another lawsuit against the Trump administration as of May 29.
This time, it hopes to protect some $10 million for University of Delaware research.
Kathy Jennings has joined 15 other Democratic attorneys general in suing to block cuts to the National Science Foundation, or programs and funding to fuel research and education in science, technology, engineering and math. This federal agency was created in 1950 to strive for U.S. dominance in science, and Congress has since mandated that work must include increasing the participation of those historically left out.
Since April, the Trump administration had begun terminating projects “focused on increasing the participation of women, minorities and people with disabilities” in STEM, per this lawsuit. The foundation canceled 73 additional grants on May 9, joining several cuts as the Department of Government Efficiency continued winnowing at agency projects, as reported by USA TODAY. In total, it has canceled more than 1,400 projects worth more than $1 billion, according to a public list of canceled grants maintained by researchers at science nonprofit rOpenSci and Harvard University.
Also in May, the administration announced it would cap “indirect costs” of research projects like laboratory space, equipment and facility services at 15%.
USA TODAY: National Science Foundation eliminates equity division, cancels dozens more grants
That stands to cut millions of dollars in research across the country, according to DOJ. Several Delaware institutions have long been supported by that money, like UD and it’s HBCU neighbor, Delaware State University. NFS later announced it would temporarily pause this measure until June 13, according to its website, when a hearing is scheduled to occur in federal court in Massachusetts.
If implemented, UD alone – having used National Science Foundation grants and funding to support breakthroughs in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biology, agriculture and more, per DOJ – would lose close to $10 million. The university had not been reached for comment by time of publication, though the university has a resource page for researchers.
Delaware Attorney General Kathleen Jennings, left, speaks at a press conference on Thursday, October 26, 2023, in Wilmington announcing a lawsuit against several chemical companies.
“If you had asked someone how to destroy this country from within, they’d tell you to do exactly what this administration is doing,” Jennings said in the announcement. She called the move “flagrantly unlawful.”
Between 1995 and 2017, according to the lawsuit, women in science and engineering occupations, or with such degrees, doubled. During that same time, people of color jumped from 15% to 35% of science and engineering job or degree holders. These cuts have already canceled dozens of projects, while cost cuts would threaten essential research.
“The NSF’s mission is to promote the progress of science, advance the national health, prosperity and welfare, and secure the national defense,” a spokesperson for the NSF said in a statement to USA TODAY. “It is our priority to ensure all NSF awards aim to create opportunities for all Americans everywhere, without exclusion of any groups. NSF remains committed to reviewing and funding proposals that are aligned with the agency priorities.”
Many terminated grants have been touted as “wasteful DEI,” but some grants aren’t overtly related to the topic, according to reporting from USA TODAY. Several projects focus on improving the performance of artificial intelligence, or the impacts of environmental factors like climate change.
If some of this sounds familiar, similar efforts to cap indirect costs at the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, and the Department of Energy have already been stopped by courts. Looking to block these science cuts, Delaware is joined by California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.
These attorneys hope to see a court order “blocking NSF’s illegal new policies from being implemented.”
Got an education story? Contact Kelly Powers at kepowers@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware sues to block Trump admin cuts to research funding
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